BENGALURU: A day after the BJP announced that 13 of the disqualified Congress-JDS legislators will contest the December 5 bypolls as its candidates, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and other senior leaders got busy on Friday trying to calm frayed nerves. Many leaders have openly expressed their displeasure after they were denied the party tickets.
Angry over being denied a ticket, supporters of former Ranebennur MLA R Shankar staged a protest in front of the CM’s residence in Bengaluru on Friday.
Shankar also met Yediyurappa who promised him that that he will be made an MLC and given a ministry.
Shankar agreed to this and is said to have assured the CM and the other party leaders that he will campaign for BJP candidate Arun Kumar Guththur aka Arun Kumar Pujar in Ranebennur.
Deputy CM Laxman Savadi too was upset over being denied an opportunity to contest from Athani.
The BJP has accommodated disqualified legislator Mahesh Kumtahalli there and he will be seeking reelection.
Sources said Savadi had expressed his displeasure before senior party leaders and even wanted to resign.
The CM held a meeting with Savadi at his residence on Friday and assured the latter of making him an MLC so that he can continue as Deputy CM.
Industries Minister Jagdish Shettar, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior BJP leader C M Udasi too held meetings with Savadi and convinced him to campaign for the party candidate. Savadi had lost to Kumtahalli in the 2018 Assembly polls.
Sources in the BJP said two sitting MLCs from among S Rudre Gowda, Ayanur Manjunath and N Ravi Kumar will be asked to resign to make way for Savadi and Shankar in the Legislative Council. All three are considered to be Yediyurappa loyalists.
Sources said the party is confident of convincing its workers in Mahalakshmi Layout Assembly segment in Bengaluru, who are protesting against giving the party ticket to K Gopalaiah who joined the party on Thursday.
Supporters of former Deputy Mayor S Harish staged a protest near the party office in Malleswaram on Thursday. Harish had contested the 2013 elections as a BJP candidate and lost to Gopalaiah who was the JDS nominee.
A senior BJP leader said they are also trying to reach out to Sharath Bacchegowda who filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Hoskote where MTB Nagaraj is contesting as the official candidate. Sharath, who is being backed by the JDS, had lost by a narrow margin to Nagaraj in 2018. Party leaders are trying to convince Sharath to withdraw his nomination.
Richest candidate Nagaraj is richer
BJP Hosakote candidate MTB Nagaraj, who was the richest candidate in the country with assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore as per 2018 poll affidavit, has seen his income rise by about Rs 90lakh every month as per the latest affidavit filed on Thursday.
Together with his wife, their assets are worth Rs 11,958,124,619.